The prestiguous travel publication Travel + Leisure has ranked Cape Town as the top city in Africa and the Middle East for 2017.
Travel + Leisure’s poll, an annual list of the finest destinations to travel to based on food, culture, shopping and more, is based on the feedback of travellers, and, for the 16th time, Cape Town has maintained the top spot as best city to travel to around the continent.
In terms of Cape Town’s rich cultural heritage, vibrant food scene, world-class wine route and natural offering, it’s easy to see why our standing has remained.
Travel + Leisure states, “it’s true that there’s likely no other city on earth where you can go from hiking a mountain to spotting giraffes to eating at a world-class restaurant, all in the span of a single day.”
In the overall poll of the World’s Best Cities for 2017, Cape Town took eighth spot.
The list is in! These are the #TLWorldsBest cities https://t.co/Asp9PiFapo pic.twitter.com/Ancnj1rLex
— Travel + Leisure (@TravelLeisure) July 12, 2017
Of course, it needs to be said that the current exchange rate makes Cape Town a highly attractive destination from an affordability standpoint for overseas visitors. Meanwhile, local property prices are skyrocketing in the face of foreign investment, making it difficult for Capetonians to enter the property market.
Fez and Marrakesh in Morocco fared fifth and fourth in the poll respectively, with Beirut, Lebanon taking the third spot and Jerusalem in Israel finishing second behind Cape Town.
Photography Highbury Media